Missouri Chief Justice Paul C. Wilson honored the 6th Judicial Circuit (Platte County) during the awards breakfast of the joint annual meeting of The Judicial Conference of Missouri, the organization of all the state judges, and The Missouri Bar, the organization of all lawyers licensed in the state.
The Permanency Award recognizes the leadership and hard work of judges, juvenile officers, clerks, children’s division workers and other support staff to protect children who have been abused or neglected.
The time standards, established in 2006, apply to certain types of hearings of cases in which children are reunited with their families or placed in another permanent home as soon as possible. The Permanency Award recognizes judicial circuits which held 100 percent of their hearings on time.
This is the 10th time the 6th Judicial Circuit has earned the award.
“When children are abused or neglected by the adults in their lives, they rely on our Missouri courts to find them a safe, stable and permanent home as quickly as possible,” Wilson said. “I am proud of the efforts of these courts in prioritizing the pressing needs of these vulnerable children.”
Judge Thomas Fincham, the circuit’s presiding judge, said: “It is vitally important that we process these cases on a timely basis. Managing cases efficiently and expeditiously benefits both the children and our local community. Judge Ann Hansbrough, our juvenile court judge, along with all the members of the juvenile court staff work tirelessly each day. This award gives them the recognition they richly deserve.”